August 1, 2004
Dykehouse : Chain Smoking Ghostly International
Erectile dysfunction? Lung cancer? Who cares! 'Chain Smoking' is brilliant...
What was the major problem with Teenage Fanclub? That's right, they didn't have
any robots. They had a drummer, not
a machine. And, generally, they spent
too much mid-tempo time playing guitars like grown-ups. Sure, they had lush melodies, but they needed discipline, urgency, a computer-processed edge. Which is where Michigan's Michael "yes, it is my real name" Dykehouse comes in. Formerly a leftfield electronics bod, Dykehouse now writes dreamy indie tunes… on computers. Most of them are pretty rich, but it's this simple, dog-eared anomaly which jumps out at you. A wry ditty about soured love and sexual frustration, it is hazily melodic but, crucially, rattles along atop distorted beats, cheapo synths and scuzz-guitars. Spunky.
Tony Naylor
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